A number of drones on the market today currently “utilize CO2 cartridges that use a small pyrotechnic charge to fire a piercing pin into the CO2 canister,” explains Gene Engelgau, CEO of Fruity Chutes.
“It works well and dumps the CO2 gas very quickly. But pyrotechnics are not available in many countries.”
Even where they are allowed pyro consumables cannot be shipped without hazmat handling and that can be a big problem. In some countries these consumables cannot be obtained by any means.
Gene continues, “The new Hawk valve is completely mechanical and uses no regulated consumables.”
(Preview of the new Hawk CO2 valve pressurizing the Peregrine UAV parachute canister. The chute is ejected about 30 ft up! What make this unique is that the Hark is entirely mechanical, it does not require flammable consumables that the Raptor CO2 release requires. Courtesy of Fruity Chutes – Parachute Manufacturer and YouTube)
The design goal of the Hawk valve was to match the high-speed performance of the Raptor Pyro valve and not require any pyro consumables.
New Hawk CO2 release valve is for use with the Peregrine UAV Ballistic Parachute Launcher for Drone and UAV parachute recovery.
The Hawk valve uses a high-energy compression spring and piston that pierces the CO2 cartridge with the largest possible hole. The CO2 gas is dumped from the cylinder in a fraction of a second and rapidly pressurizes the parachute canister. This ejects the parachute at high velocity.
Initial units of the Hawk CO2 Release valve will be available mid-December 2016.
Fruity Chutes will be exhibiting in booth #614 at Drone World Expo in San Jose, California, 15-16 November, 2016.
Fruity Chutes is a world-leading manufacturer of parachute recovery systems for drones, UAVs, R/C aircraft, and rockets.
Fruity Chutes provides parachute recovery systems for many of the top UAS manufacturers including AAI/Textron, Quest UAV, Silent Falcon, Aeromao, Zipline, Matternet, and many more.
Other customers who use Fruity Chutes products include Space X, Google, Intel, NASA, MIT, and Boeing.
Fruity Chutes’ top priority is to work with manufacturers and provide them with world-class parachute recovery systems.
